


Chasing Memories

by cratesso



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 14:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/622970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cratesso/pseuds/cratesso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Derek is a fluffy bunny (in my dreams?), Stiles is a know-it-all, Allison wears pajamas and Scott sheds manly tears (well, not so manly.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first finished one-shot of Teen Wolf. It took me a little while to write, but I was too tired to edit it. You will all have to live with my inadequacies!

It was Halloween when Stiles finally came back to Beacon Hills. He’d spent the last two years at college and the rest of the pack was obviously missing him. Derek would have thought Scott would be the first person he tracked down, which is why he was so surprised to walk out of his room in his newly renovated house (Stiles’ idea) to see Stiles lounging on the couch as if he owned the place.

“Hey, bro,” Stiles said, probably laughing at the surprised look on Derek’s face. “Long time, no see.”

“When’d you get back?” Derek asked, eyeing Stiles suspiciously. There was something off about the kid. His scent had changed when he went off to college, but now it was almost unrecognizable. It was off-putting to the wolf, but Derek recognized him.

“Just now, obviously,” Stiles snorted, using his gangly limbs to hoist himself off of the couch.

“Why aren’t you with Scott?” Derek grumbled.

“Dude, no ‘Hey, Stiles’? No ‘How’ve you been?’ Rude!” Stiles held his hand to his heart in mock surprise. “Also, Scott’s with Allison.”

Derek nodded in agreement, standing awkwardly in the doorway, but unable to move. “It’s, uh, good to see you, Stiles.”

“I thought so,” was Stiles’ smug answer. He was walking around the new den, looking at all of the new pictures of the pack – some that Lydia had taken and some that Derek had smuggled out of their homes. “Looks good in here.”

“Yeah, we remodeled,” Derek replied awkwardly. Stiles just nodded, dragging a hang across the new paint job. “Uh, does your dad know you’re here?”

Stiles let out a harsh laugh before answering. “He knows where I am.”

Something was off about the kid, but Derek couldn’t figure out what. He was just as gangly as he had been the last time they saw each other, just as awkward in his movements. The only difference was how quiet he was being.

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked, even though it was mostly a command. As much as the pack had grown, he still wasn’t sure how to ask things.

“You always were a little slow on the uptake,” Stiles’ said, crossing his arms and giving Derek a pointed stare.

Derek pulled out his phone and sent a text to Scott.

_To: McCall 21:42 PM_   
_Come over. Stiles here._

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked suspiciously, crossing the room on too-long legs to stand next to Derek.

“Texting Scott. He’ll want to know you’re here,” Derek answered simply. There was a draft coming from the open door and Derek went to shut it with a scowl. “And shut the door behind you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Next time. I told you Scott’s busy. Why’d you text him, dude?” Stiles grumbled, falling back on the couch and pouting with his arms crossed.

_From: McCall 21:44_   
_omw_

Derek frowned at the short text message and moved to sit beside Stiles on the couch. “Like I said, he’ll want to know.”

Stiles’ head fell back on the cushions and he let out an exasperated groan. He muttered something about Derek being an idiot and ignored the alpha’s signature growl. “You know just how to ruin a mood, don’tcha?” Stiles smirked.

“Shut up, Stiles,” Derek replied back out of habit and he words lacked their usual bite. If he were being honest, he would admit how much he had missed Stiles these past few years. How running the pack wasn’t the same without the loudmouthed human. But he didn’t usually practice honesty. “How is life?”

“Oh, you know,” Stiles said, waving the question off with a flick of his wrist. “Hey, nice TV. How big is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“As suave as ever, I see,” Stiles snickered.

Derek was concentrating on Stiles’ scent – what was off about it – when he heard Allison’s SUV barreling down the gravel driveway. He was going to gripe about it, but Stiles hopped off the couch and went to stand next to the windows.

“Like I said, sourwolf,” he chuckled. “Ruining the moment.”

Derek ignored the stupid nickname and went out to the front yard to meet Scott and Allison as they jumped out of the car and jogged up to him together.

“Ugh, do they do everything together?” Stiles groaned from just inside the doorway, surprising Derek by his closeness. They made eye contact and Stiles grinned, “He’s totally whipped, right?”

Derek tried to hide his smile, but nodded in agreement all the same. Scott met him at the top of the stairs, panting a little, and Allison was still in her pajamas. “Why the hurry?” He raised an eyebrow at Allison and tried to keep the smile off of his face. “I’m sure Stiles wouldn’t have minded if you changed, Allison.”

Allison gave him a weak smile and stood awkwardly in the background. He supposed she was still unsure about him, even though he had made a truce with the Argents a year ago. Scott stood in front of him and looked particularly angry. Derek turned back to look as Stiles, who had gone back into the house to recline on the couch, and yelled: “Told you he’d want to see you.” Stiles choked on his laughter, coughing out the word ‘idiot’ before quieting down.

“Why’re you doing this?” Scott growled.

“He doesn’t get it!” came Stiles’ sing-song response from the living room.

Derek blanched when Scott lunged forward, his eyes flashing yellow and his claws extended. Allison sucked in a breath. She froze only for a moment before she ran back to her car, probably searching for a weapon. Derek was shoving Scott away, his eyes dangerously red as he flung Scott off the porch.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Scott?” he growled, launching himself to where his beta was curled on the ground.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” Scott screamed, his voice hoarse. Derek paused when Scott looked up at him and tears were streaming down his face. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Derek?!”

Allison sprinted over, dropping her crossbow in the dirt next to Scott and cradling his head on her lap. Derek jerked out of his crouch, his features slipping back to their human state. Allison directed a fierce glare his way and continued petting Scott’s head.

“Scott – I don’t get it. I just – Stiles…” he trailed off. His head was pounding and bright spots were clouding his vision. “Stiles.” He repeated the name a few more times without noticing that Scott cried harder with each repetition.

He felt something behind him and turned to see Stiles standing at the top of the front steps with a disappointed look on his face. “Dude, not cool. Don’t you get it?” His voice was softer now.  
Derek doubled over, the pain sharpening until he couldn’t bear to open his eyes. He clutched his temple, trying to squeeze the pain out, and his claws came out to skin into the thin skin of his scalp.

At first all he saw were flashes. Stiles and Scott laughing together on the ride to the supermarket. They were holding the first annual pack movie night – it was Stiles’ first summer home from college and he offered to make dinner if Derek paid. Derek and Scott were in the car, waiting for Stiles’ to put the grocery cart back up, when it happened. A sharp sound and the faint scent of gunpowder and blood. They both rushed out of the car to find Stiles on the ground, blood spilling out on the grimy tar around him. Scott screamed at him to give Stiles the bite, but Derek couldn’t move. He felt the last beat of Stiles’ heart – felt him slip away – and all he could do was sit there.

“Really stupid way to die, right?” Stiles said from behind him. “A mugger.” The scoff that followed was pure Stiles and it made Derek’s heart jerk in his chest. “I figured it would be something cool – like a witch. Or a ghost.”

Derek stayed where he was on the ground, unable to look Stiles in the eye. Not now.

“Dude, calm down,” Stiles said. He was kneeling right next to Derek, but when he tried to lift the alpha’s chin his hand went through it. “Ew,” he grimaced, shaking his hand in the air like there was something stuck to it. He stopped to lean in closer, resting his head centimeters away from Derek’s so he could look the older man in the eye. “I don’t blame you. You know I didn’t want the bite.”

“I could’ve saved you,” Derek whispered brokenly.

“You couldn’t have,” Stiles reminded him with a smirk. “The bullet hit my heart. Not even you’re that good.”

“I could’ve…” he muttered again.

Scott was still on the ground, but he had quieted with Allison’s attention. She gave Derek a pitying look before tugging Scott up and half carrying him to the SUV. She took off into the night and left Derek alone with his memories.

“Hey, I’ve still got a few hours until I’ve got to go,” Stiles said, staying silent for a moment before continuing. “Turns out I’m pretty fast as a ghost. I can run a long way, you know.”

Derek lifted his eyes to look at Stiles, wondering how he couldn’t have noticed the emptiness that was blanketed over his usual scent. It was like a faint trace – something you’d smell on an old t-shirt.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Stiles sighed, straightening so he was towering over Derek. The alpha raised his head to keep Stiles in his sight. “Run.” That was the last thing Stiles said before he sprinted off into the woods, his laugh echoing in the trees. It took Derek a total of three seconds to decide to follow and two more to transform into his full alpha form. He let out a keening howl in the night – a howl to call the pack to him, a howl that could wake the dead – and faded into the trees: a wolf chasing a ghost.


End file.
